STEVENSON EXPRESSWAY HIGH OCCUPANCY VEHICLE LANE FEASIBILITY STUDY

In 1990, a preliminary evaluation of potential high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane locations in northeastern Illinois recommended three expressway corridors for further evaluation. These three corridors were next screened using criteria based upon other regions' experiences with HOV facilities and recommendations from an expert panel held in early 1991. The Stevenson Expressway corridor - a radial corridor running from the southwest suburbs to the Chicago central area - was found to be the most promising of the three corridors for an HOV lane application. A feasibility study of an HOV lane on the Stevenson Expressway is now underway as part of the region's ongoing Operation Greenlight congestion management program. Direction for the project is provided by an HOV Lane Steering Committee composed of members from the region's operating and planning agencies. The Illinois DOT has contracted with a consultant to develop and recommend an HOV lane design. The Chicago Area Transportation Study is responsible for forecasting HOV traffic for alternative HOV designs selected by the consultant. This paper reviews the following major components of the HOV lane feasibility study: (1) Organization and management of the study; (2) Development of conceptual HOV lane alternatives; (3) Design and traffic operations issues that affect the project's feasibility; (4) Forecasting traffic on the HOV lane alternatives; (5) Evaluation of the HOV lane alternatives, in particular, their impact upon the corridor's transit ridership; and (6) Programming of the HOV lane improvement and coordination with other programmed improvements for the Stevenson Expressway. A status report on the feasibility study and a discussion of preliminary findings are included in the paper. Some comments on future HOV facility planning in the northeastern Illinois region conclude the paper.